Steady Ground
by s0thathappened
Summary: Post EoD fluff (angst).
1. Chapter 1

"Really, is this what we're doing now?"

Penryn should be scared right now. A few months ago, she would have been able to muster up a very respectable amount of terror if four men armed with blunt objects had her surrounded.

Now? Nearly a month after the angel war had met its end with Uriel's death, and over three months since the world had gone to hell in a handbasket? Please. She had fought demigod warriors, had been to hell and back, had stared certain death in the face so many times that she had lost count.

After all that, she couldn't bring herself to be very afraid of a few half-starved men whose best defense were a couple of beaten-up baseball bats.

It also didn't hurt that Alpha and Tattoo were lurking somewhere nearby, and some of the Watchers that had come along on patrol could probably hear her right now, even if they were currently out of sight.

But she doubt that she'd be needing much help.

At her hip, Pooky Bear pulsed in disappointment. Penryn could feel how it was itching for a fight after so long.

 _Not today, buddy_.

The leader-well, he was the ugliest and surliest of the bunch-sneered at her.

"You shouldn't come into our territory if you weren't looking for a fight, little girl."

"Boss..." One of the men behind him nudged him. "I think that's her…"

"Who?"

"The angel slayer," another man piped up.

All four men turned back to stare at her.

Penryn gave a little wave.

"Seriously?" The leader looked at the sword resting on her hip. "What are you, ten?"

Penryn shrugged. "I'll be eighteen in a two months."

"Well, happy fucking birthday to you, princess," said the leader. "Now get off our territory before we wipe the floor with you and use your little sword as a toothpick."

Big words, but the men behind the leader shifted nervously.

They should be nervous. Pooky pulsed again, enraged, itching for a fight.

Penryn crossed her arms.

"I don't think so."

"Excuse me, princess?"

"Well, it's not your territory anymore, is it?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she say Howler and Cyclone land on a nearby roof. She subtly shook her head, knowing they'd be able to see her signal with their advanced sight.

"I mean, the apocalypse is over," she continued. "The vacation is over and you guys can cut the Mad Max crap. It's time for all of us to rebuild."

"You little b-"

"I'm not done. The angels are leaving. The world is going back to normal. There's no room for grown men trying to play warlords. How long do you think this can last? Seriously? Let's pretend that we won't bother and let you be kings of a burned down, stripped neighborhood. How long before another gang comes in and wipes you out? Or the government eventually decides to clean up the streets?"

"That won't-"

"Shut up. I'll tell you how long: not long as you think. There's no room for people like you anymore. So stop clinging to this. Come back into the fold. Become people again."

"Like you'd accept us." The leader's hand tightened around the bat. "You talk to us like you're trash. You don't know what it's like. You have no idea what we've had to do to survive-"

"I know exactly what it's like." Penryn crossed her arms, mostly to quell the urge to give Pooky the chance to come out and play. "Except, I wasn't only trying to defend my family from the apocalypse. I was also busy protecting them from people exactly like you."

Penryn took a step forward. All four edged back.

"I don't have sympathy for you. I don't have the time or patience to listen to your threats or your sob stories. If you want, you can come back to our community. We won't ask questions as long as you don't make any trouble. Or you can stay here and starve and wait to die."

With that, Penryn turned and walked away. It probably wasn't smart to turn her back to her potential attackers, but she wanted to show she wasn't afraid of them. And she didn't really consider them to be threats anyway.

She had walked two blocks before Cyclone and Howler decided to swoop down and trot beside her.

"You're getting mighty confident there, maggot slayer," Howler said. "Especially for a little Daughter of Man that looks like a ten year old."

Penryn snorted. "What can I say? Your commander has been rubbing off on me in the worst ways."

"Nah, you're pretty scary on your own," Cyclone said. "Did you see their faces? They were practically cowering when they realized who you were."

"They were scared of the killer of angels, not of me, Cyclone. But having a scary reputation is convenient."

"And what, you're not the killer of angels?" Howler asked. He grinned. "That's what you said in your little broadcast before the blood hunt. I never saw the Commander more scared in my entire life."

"Well, the angels aren't trying to kill us anymore, so I'm not trying to kill them."

"Generous," said Cyclone.

"Yep, that's me."

The angels snorted, but both took over to finish the rest of their sweeps.

Penryn sighed. It might have only been a month after the war had come to an end, but the real work was only beginning. Any dreams of pig farms had to put on hold while she and Raffe helped rebuild civil society and keep the angels quiet as they waited for Michael's arrival.

It was only temporary though. She might have stepped into Obi's shoes for the reconstruction, but that was only because people insisted on her doing it after the Battle of Half Moon Bay. It might take months for Michael to arrive, but by that time she was sure she could hand off the reins to someone more...adultish.

At least her day was almost over. She usually either began or ended her day with patrols, which basically meant combing the streets for any dangerous and unruly elements as well looking for survivors who wanted to be brought back into the fold. The gangs were still a problem, but many were already shrinking or scattering. The council had decided to adopt a policy of something like amnesty towards them, if they chose to come in freely and promised to turn over a new leaf.

According to DeeDum, she had a talent for "recruitment." Howler, on the other hand, thought she had mastered the art of naked intimidation and supreme bitchiness.

Whatever. Like they never got grumpy once in awhile.

* * *

"...and so they lived happily ever after," Penryn whispered, shutting the book as softly as she could.

Raffe leaned against the doorframe as he watched her. Penryn placed the book on the nightstand. She moved a sleeping Paige off of her shoulder to lay her back on her own bed. She tucked her baby sister in, smoothed over Paige's rumpled hair, and kissed her forehead.

Even in the dim light, Raffe could make out the glint of razor teeth and the ridges of stitches criss-crossing Paige's skin. Still, she looked undeniably young and sweet under the pink covers, surrounded by stuffed animals that had been collected religiously for her by her sister and mother.

He moved aside to let Penryn turn off the lights and tiptoe out of the room. She closed the door behind her.

"Hey," she said. She smiled at him and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Hi." He cocked his head. "Why do you always finish the story even after Paige falls asleep every time?"

She shrugged and grimaced sheepishly.

"It's really stupid, but I hope that it'll help her dream of happy endings and other good things."

She was leaning against the wall opposite of him.

Too far, too shy. Even a month after his decision, she still instinctively put a little space between them. Before, she had stolen touches and kisses from him like there had been no tomorrow, because, let's face it-there hadn't been. Now, she treated him like a skittish animal that would bolt if she edged to close.

Raffe wasn't having that at all. He stepped forward and crooked his fingers around the belt loops of her jeans, tugging her against him.

"That's a little stupid," he said. He grinned as she huffed against his lips and smacked his chest.

"You should at least pretend to disagree."

"I'm just trying to be an honest boyfriend."

"You're no boy."

"Damn straight." He kissed her, sweet and slow until she turned soft under his hands and the natural tension dissolved from her shoulders.

He couldn't deny the twinge of satisfaction he felt when he pulled back and saw the slightly dazed look in her eyes. Call him cocky, but he knew the effect he had on her and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Come on." He walked backward down the hallway and tugged her along with him, with his fingers still hooked to the loops on her jeans. "It's my turn to get tucked in."

Penryn wrinkled her nose. "Ew. Even you can't make that sound sexy."

"I have my limits." He lead them into their bedroom and kicked the door closed behind them.

"Can you repeat that? I could've sworn I heard you being modest-" She gave an indignant half-shriek, half-laugh as he pushed her none too gently onto their bed.

"Such a rude little monkey." He sat down on the foot of the bed, unzipping her boots and pulling them off her feet.

They had technically never agreed to share a bedroom. In the immediate aftermath of the battle, however, Penryn had split her time, waking and otherwise, between him and Paige. It had simply been easier to spend his nights in her family's apartment, rather than in the Watchers' one floor above. And if he were being completely honestly, it soothed him to have her so close.

Well. He took in Penryn, laid out before him on _their_ bed, giving him that half-shy smile of hers. He brushed his fingers over the exposed sliver of skin between her shirt and her jeans. She shivered.

Soothing was one of the feelings she evoked in him.

He straddled her legs and leaned forward, kissing the bare skin at her waist. He hid his smile against her stomach as he heard-and felt-her inhale sharply at the contact. He continued upwards, leaving a trail of kisses as he slowly unbuttoned her flannel shirt.

"What are you doing, Raffe?"

"I'm seducing you." He took a detour to her left, brushing his lips over her ribs while his nose brushed the underside of her breast.

"Oh." She sounded a bit dazed. "You're doing a really good job then."

Her hands brushed over his back.

"You still have your bandages on," she said, touching his back more firmly over his shirt and sounding decidedly less breathless.

Sensing that his seduction was about to get detoured, Raffe quickly shifted his attention to Penryn's neck. He kissed the spot where her throat and her shoulder met, knowing it was one of her favorite spot thanks to many fruitful hours of exploration.

"I forget to get them removed today," he murmured against her skin. He kept on peppering kisses, hoping to keep her distracted. "But it's still the 27th. Today's the day I get a clean bill of health."

"Then we should get those bandages off now," she said. She pushed his shoulder. He groaned into the crook of her neck, but relented. He sat up.

"What about getting me off?" he grumbled.

Penryn's cheeks flushed pink but she still pushed him so he was sitting next to her instead of on top of her.

"Get your mind out of the gutter and help me take off your shirt," she said, trying to tug it over his head and demon wings.

"That's definitely not helping me keep my mind out of the gutter," he said as he obliged her. "Definitely the opposite, in fact."

"Whatever." She scooted so that his back was facing her. Her fingers ghosted gently over his bare skin and the bandages. This time he was the one being forced to bite back shivers.

"Everything looks okay. I'll be right back." She climbed off the bed and scurried off to the bathroom.

Raffe grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it.

Four weeks. It had been four weeks since the war had ended. It had also been four weeks since the night of their first (failed) attempt at consummating their relationship.

Raffe wasn't exactly proud of it. He had made all these plans and promises to himself. Reminding himself that Penryn was far less experienced than him, that she was special, that she deserved the very best he had to offer. He would be patient and take the physical part of their relationship slowly, day by day. They had all the time in the world now.

All those thoughts and good intentions went out the window the first night they shared a bed. He would have been happy to lay all the blame on Penryn, but he had been just as enthusiastic as she had been. After weeks of longing and restraint, it had taken less than 10 minutes for them to tear the clothes off each other.

Things would have gone much, much further if Penryn hadn't tried wrapping her arms around his freshly scarred back.

It had hurt like hell. Worse, Penryn had jumped away from him like a scalded cat. And proceeded to refuse any of his advances beyond kissing.

At least until he healed from his injury and subsequent surgery to graft on his new wings. Which was _today_.

"You are so dramatic," Penryn said as she returned to the bed, sitting behind his back.

Raffe lifted his head up from the pillow. "I am not being dramatic. I am having a reasonable reaction as a demigod warrior who's being coddled by a human schoolgirl."

"Totally, completely dramatic."

She began peeling off the tape keeping the bandages attached on his back and around his new, old wings. Her touch was impossibly gentle, working patiently on the tape to avoid it tugging on or tearing his skin. She carefully pulled off the white bandages next and then waded them up with the tape and threw them in the waste basket nearby.

Her fingers trailed over his uncovered back, lingering on the sensitive area around his wings.

"It almost looks like nothing ever happened," she whispered. Her finger traced over the skeletal edge of one wing.

"I told you I was fine."

"And now I believe you." Something cold touched Raffe's back. He almost flinched.

Penryn scrubbed the wet towel she had brought from the bathroom lightly over his back.

"You...you don't need to do that."

"It's okay. I just wanted to make sure the area under wrap was clean. Laylah's been doing a good job switching out your bandages."

"I like Nurse Penryn better. She gives sponge baths."

"In your dreams." She rubbed a dry cloth over his back, dabbing the areas she had covered earlier.

He tried to turn around when he felt completely dry but Penryn pushed him to stay in his position.

She squirted some sort of white ointment onto her hands and rubbed them together. She began her ministrations again, rubbing her hands over his back and massaging the lotion into his skin.

"It's supposed to good for muscle aches and pains," she explained, referring to the lotion she was spreading over his back. "I know everything looks fine and you heal insanely fast, but I figured this might help if there was a little leftover pain."

"There's no pain," he said huskily. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feel of her hands on him. He was definitely feeling even better than before, but he didn't care if God Himself had given Penryn the lotion. It was her touch alone that was doing wonders for him.

She rubbed in soothing circles and eased the knots in his shoulders, working methodically to cover every part of his skin.

Her gentle, reverent touch brought back memories from when she had bandaged up and nursed his feet when they had first met. They barely had known each other's names at that point. Even then, he couldn't help but be surprised by her-this scrawny little human, so full of terror and desperation and anger, had handled him with such tenderness. All the while telling him that she despised him and his kind.

That experience alone should have prepared him for how she was now constantly. She wasn't as bad with him as she was with Paige, but she was so attentive in that shy, awkward, grumpy way of hers. Raffe didn't think Penryn knew how to _not_ try to take care of her people.

On his part, he couldn't remember the last time anyone wanted to take care of him, let alone a time when he ever wanted to return the favor. So all of this was completely uncharted territory.

Not that he didn't like it.

Penryn had finished his massage. She was still but for her hand stroking his left folded wing. He inhaled sharply when she leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his back, right between his wing joints.

She pressed her cheek against the spot and wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly from behind.

Raffe placed his hands over hers. "Penryn…"

"I'm okay."

Liar. He felt something wet trickle down his back. She was crying.

He twisted around to look at her, to hold her, to comfort her-to, Christ, do something, anything. But she slipped off the bed and was already backing away towards the door, furiously scrubbing her cheeks.

"I...I just need a second."

With that, she fled.

* * *

Okkkkkk. Sorry for the cliffhanger, angst-filled ending. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but it was taking too long and I got impatient so I cut it in half. I'll do another chapter of my AU fic, then come back to finish this one. Also, for anyone who might be curious, this takes place in the same timeline as Michael.


	2. Chapter 2

Penryn sat on the edge of the roof, her bare feet dangling over the side of the ledge. Her toes felt numb at this point. It was way too cold to be outside without a jacket, but she couldn't bring herself to go back downstairs.

Okay, she was stalling. She had stopped crying almost as soon as she had come up, but it still didn't make it any less humiliating. The apocalypse was over. Everyone got their happily ever after. And still, in some ways Penryn felt like she was more lost than she had ever been before.

She was so lost in her brooding that she didn't even notice anyone's presence until Howler stuck his hand in front of her face and waved it in front of her eyes.

She jumped nearly a foot into the air. "Jesus!"

"Nah. Just me." He knocked his knuckles against her temple. "I was just checking to see if you still in there. You looked like someone had sucked out your brains."

"Since when were you such an expert on _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_?"

"It was the first movie they showed once they got the electrical grid up and running." He plopped down on the ledge next to her and preened. "As you can see, I'm assimilating to your primitive human ways and observing your strange myths."

"That's...nice." The Watchers chose not to stick to the Angel camp nearby. Most of the remaining humans had been wary of them at first, but all of them (particularly Cyclone and Howler) had thrown themselves into human society and forced the humans to mingle with them. Most people quickly adjusted to the fact that these elite angelic soldiers acted more like frat guys in their first semester away from home in college than demons escaped from hell.

"So, what's up, maggot slayer? Why are you sulking?"

"I am not sulking. I leave that to the angels."

"Angels do not sulk. We brood. In a very masculine, distinguished manner."

"Mh-hm."

Howler poked Penryn's ribs. "Come on, maggot slayer. This is your cue for a witty comeback."

"Sorry, I guess I'm fresh out."

"Now I'm definitely worried. What is it, trouble in paradise?"

"Nothing that wasn't already my fault." Penryn ran a hand through her hair and slowly exhaled. "Okay, I'm definitely moping. Sorry, Howler, I'm not going to be fun company tonight. You should just head back downstairs."

Howler just looked at her for a minute before he shrugged and shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm good."

He laid back and tucked his arms behind his back as he gazed up at the night sky.

"You know what I really missed that about Earth when I was in the Pit?" he asked. His legs dangled over the edge of the roof next to her own.

"Not living in constant fear of starvation and painful death?"

"Psh, you and the Commander have no sense of romance." He swept his hand out broadly to gesture to the sky. "The stars, maggot slayer. I missed your stars."

"They didn't have stars in the Pit?"

"I was too busy living in constant fear of starvation and painful death to take notice."

"What about heaven?"

"Are you kidding? Too many assholes telling you what to do and where to go and who to be to even have a chance to look up." His hand curled into a fist before he tucked it back to rest behind his head. "No. Humans were the only ones who saw constellations in their starscape. My Daughter of Man was the one who taught me all of them."

Penryn fought hard to keep her expression neutral. His Daughter of Man...none of the Watchers had spoken about their wives or children since they'd come out of the Pit.

"What...what was she like?"

She heard Howler suck in a breath as sharp as jagged glass. The time dripped slowly in silence as they both sat out alone in the cold night.

"I'm sorry," Penryn finally said. "We don't have to-"

"She smelled like sheep."

"What?"

"Nea. She was a shepherdess in a tribe that we were all camped out near. She always smelled like sheep. And earth. And grass. She whistled whenever she was watching her animals. Everyone else in her tribe kept away from our camp but Nea was never going let us stop her from keeping her lambs fed."

"She sounds sweet."

"I had thought so, too." Howler snorted. "I didn't know shit. You know, Beliel and Thermo had already fallen at that point. At first, I thought those two idiots were out of their minds. I couldn't believe that they were throwing away over _nothing_. Turned out I was completely wrong. You know why, maggot slayer?"

"Because you didn't know shit?"

"Pre-cisely, maggot slayer." Howler grinned, but it was directed more to the stars than to Penryn. "Nea is...she had been so quiet and gentle. She didn't need to always be surrounded by comrades, to make wisecracks to get attention, to go looking for trouble because she was bored. She was so at peace, so strong on her own. She didn't need anything or anyone. I have no idea what that's like."

"Yeah." Penryn thought of Paige, of her mother, of Raffe. "Me neither."

Howler nodded. "I thought I would fight a dozen dragons with my hands tied behind my back before I went down Beliel and Thermo's path. But the second I met Nea...I couldn't have fallen faster if someone had cut off my wings mid-flight. There was just no going back.

"Of course, Nea was completely unmoved by my identity crisis. She was entirely unimpressed by my efforts to sweep her off her feet."

"Oh, she didn't immediately swoon in the face of your angelic magnificence?"

"I wish. My girl was a stubborn as a bull. She knew what would be my punishment if I stayed and told me that she wasn't going to be the reason I got sent to hell."

"How did you change her mind?"

"A lot of little things, but mostly being persistent as hell." Howler sat up and cracked his knuckles. "It mostly boiled down to me explaining that as long as she loved me, the rest was just noise. Over and over and over again."

"Maybe she wasn't wrong. The rest does matter."

Howler smacked the back of her head.

"Ow!"

"You know, they say that if you keep saying stupid things, you'll eventually become stupid yourself."

"No one says that."

"Must be an angel saying."

"Liar."

"Guilty as charged." He patted her hair as if she were a puppy. "Look, I get it. You're a human that's fallen for an angel, and as per tradition, you're on a guilt trip." He made his voice go high-pitched. "Oh, he's turned his back on his entire society. Oh, he's going to get cast into the Pit. Oh, he's made an insane deal with an archdemon and gotten his fluffy white wings chopped off. This is all my fault! I can't let him do this."

"Is this seriously your attempt to make me feel better? Because I do not sound like that and it's pretty insulting-"

Howler waved his hand dismissively. "You can act as snarky as you want, but I saw Nea and all the other Watchers' wives go through the same thing. Do yourself a favor and stop angsting now. No one forced any of us to do anything. All of us, including the Commander, made our own decisions."

Penryn signed and ran a hand over her face. "It's not-it's just-this is different."

"What a magical, special snowflake you are."

"It _is_ different, okay? Raffe, he lost his wings because of me, Howler. _Again_. He still can't pick up his own sword. He had everything he ever wanted back with him and then he threw it away. What happens when he wakes up and realizes that I'm not worth it?"

She clenched her jaw and fought the surge of emotion trying to claw its way up her throat. She dug her nails into the palms of her clenched fists. She had already cried once tonight. No point in giving a repeat experience to Howler.

"Penryn, I'm not going to tell you if I think Raphael made the right call. Trying to decide if you were worth it or not is pointless and stupid." Howler placed a hand on her shoulder. "It literally doesn't matter. The Commander is not idiot. He knew exactly what he was doing and he made his choices. Out of his own free will. Not because you are perfect, but because you two are stupidly in love with other. You don't owe him anything, especially your guilt."

"I...I want to believe that, Howler. I really do."

Howler patted her head again. "Lucky for you, angels are just as stubborn as Daughters of Man. Boss will prove it to you eventually."

With that, Howler departed.

She wasn't quite sure how long she stayed out in the cold after that. Maybe for thirty seconds or for thirty minutes. This time, it was a faint drizzle that awoke her from her reverie.

She tilted her head up and let the rain run over her face as thunder, so distant she could only just hear it, rumbled.

A storm was coming. The last time she was caught in one, she hadn't been alone.

She felt a shiver creep through her spine. Not from the chill, but from the memory of heat.

She stood up. It was time to stop being afraid.

* * *

When Penryn came back down to the bedroom, she found Raffe asleep on his back on the bed, with one arm flung over his eyes.

She closed the door as quietly as she could.

Raffe sat up. Not asleep after all.

"Christ, you're soaking wet." He got up and grabbed a towel from their closet. He threw it over her head and scrubbed her hair.

"Raffe."

"You've already survived locusts, hellions, hordes of angels, and the Pit. Are you trying to catch a cold since nothing else can seem to put you out of commission?"

"Raffe."

"Look, I'll give you all the space and time you need. You don't need to sit outside in the middle of the night in the pouring rain to get away. Shit, your hands are as cold as ice." He took her hands in his own, rubbing them to bring some warmth back.

That simple gesture alone made her want to melt.

"Sorry." She interlaced the fingers of his hand with her own. "I didn't mean to make you worry. I shouldn't have ran out like that."

He sighed. "No, that was my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you-"

She cut him off with a kiss, tangling her hands through his hair and pulling him close. His hands automatically went around her torso, crushing her against his body.

"You've never pushed me to do anything that I didn't want to do," she whispered. She leaned back just enough to look into his blue eyes. "I don't think you could if you tried. That's not who we are."

"Penryn." He tilted his forehead to touch hers.

"It's just...I am with you because I want you. All the time. I want you so much and it scares me a lot. I feel like I spent so long trying to survive that I don't know how to be a person again. How to stop being afraid that everything will fall apart. That you'll wake up and regret it all and leave."

Raffe reach up to cup her cheek. His thumb brushed over lips.

"Even if you believe in nothing else, believe in this." His bright blue eyes cut through the darkness, through her, as if he were looking deep inside her. "I will never regret you, Penryn Young. Not now. Not ever."

She couldn't suppress the tremor that passed through her with those words. For the first time, she could actually completely believe in that.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him to sit down on their bed. Her fingers ghosted down her own chest, unbuttoning her shirt.

The intensity of Raffe's eyes as his gaze brushed over her increasingly exposed skin made her blush. It was nothing he hadn't seen before, but she was tempted to slow down, just to revel in the way he looked at her.

She shrugged out of her shirt and let it drop to the floor. As she reached back to unhook her bra, Raffe tugged her closer and placed a hand on her bare waist.

"Penryn." The was a raw edge to the huskiness in his voice. His thumb was rubbing slow, tingling circles over her skin. "What are you doing?"

"I'm seducing you." He quirked an eyebrow and smirked. She unclasped her bra and let it drop as well. He inhaled sharply and instinctively drew her closer.

She unsnapped and unzipped her jeans. Hooking her thumbs over both her pants and underwear, she yanked both down and kicked them aside.

She couldn't help but blush harder as he slowly surveyed her body, drinking in the sight of her. Some distant part of brain felt embarrassed to be standing completely naked in front of him while he still had his pants on. The rest of her mind wanted to know how it'd feel to have him touch her.

She took his hands and glided them over her torso, sighing in pleasure. She guided them to rest over her breasts.

"Fuck." Raffe licked his lips and took a deep, steadying breath. His thumbs brushed over her nipples and she couldn't help but gasp. "You're doing a hell of a job seducing me."

She grinned. The bed dipped down as she straddled his lap.

"I had a pretty good teacher," she murmured against his neck. She kissed along the line of his strong jaw as she traced her fingers over the muscles on his back, near his wings. His own hands traced over her body, lingering over her breasts. His caresses started off as slow and gentle, quickly becoming rougher and more demanding, but never painful.

He cupped her cheek and guided her mouth to meet his. He sucked on her bottom lip and then drew her in for a rough, near desperate kiss. She moaned as his tongue teased hers, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

Raffe flipped their positions, pushing her onto her back. He gripped her hips hard, almost to the point of bruising, as he peppered open-mouthed kisses down her neck, down her chest. He worked his way over her breast and she cried out as his tongue curled over her areola. One hand came up to knead her other breast.

Penryn felt like she was burning from the inside out. She kept brushing her hands over his back, digging her short nails into his skin, trying to find an anchor as he tasted her.

Her hands sunk down to the waistband of his pants. Frantically, she began pushing them off him. No more barriers. She wanted all of him.

" _Raffe_." She all but begged him. "Please, now."

He lifted his head to look at her. He was an absolute mess-breathing as heavily as she was, his muscles tense and coiled underneath her hands. Black hair disheveled completely, thanks to her. His pupils were dilated, huge and dark inside eyes swirling with want. His desire clearly pressing against her thigh.

She wanted to eat him alive.

" _Please_ ," she repeated, tugging insistently on his pants.

He cursed and crushed his lips against hers briefly before scrambling off the bed and all but tearing the rest of his clothes off. He stayed still for a moment, letting Penryn rake her eyes over him (holy hell, her soft gasp did wonders for his ego), before stepping back towards the bed.

"Wait." She rose to her knees and placed a hand on his chest.

"Christ, you're going to kill me."

"Condoms."

"What? Oh." He brushed a hand through his hair.

"In the closest," he said, the same time Penryn said, "Under the bed."

"I wanted to be prepared, too," she said, blushing a little when he arched a brow.

He grinned and kissed her temple. "Christ, you're going to kill me, Daughter of Man."

He knelt and found the box under the bed. He grabbed a packet and crawled back onto the sheets with her.

This time, Penryn pushed him onto his back. She straddled his legs and brushed her hands over his taut body.

She bit her lip. "Can I have the condom please?"

He handed it to her, watching her with hooded eyes. She tore it open and was surprised by how steady her own hands were as she rolled it down his cock. Raffe let out a strangled groan as she ran her hand up and down his length.

"Okay," she said. She scooted her knees forward so she was hovering above his hips. She placed her free hand on his chest to steady herself. "I've never done this before, so I need you to be patient. And tell me if I mess up. Okay?"

The corner of Raffe's lip quirked up and Penryn felt her heart melt all over again.

He reached up and cupped her cheek, guiding her to lean down for a slow, sweet kiss.

"I trust you, Penryn. Completely."

She nodded and sat up. Taking a deep breath, she guided his cock towards her entrance and let herself sink down, let _him_ sink into her. She dug her nails into Raffe's shoulder, closing her eyes as she made slow, careful progress.

When she's finally rested on his thighs completely, she let herself exhale. Raffe placed a hand on her hip, rubbing soothing circles over her skin even as she could feel the tension winding his body tight.

"I...I just need a minute."

It wasn't painful. It certainly wasn't a transformative moment, as if she could feel herself change or become less pure in any particular way. She just felt oddly...full. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but that might have been due to unfamiliarity rather than the situation itself.

Only one way to find out.

When she felt fully adjusted, she braced both her hands on his chest. Tentatively, she lifted up hips and brought them down again. Her surprised gasp mingled with Raffe's moan. His grip on her hip tightened, as if he needed something to hold onto while she repeated the action.

Finally, she opened her eyes. Something inside her clenched when she saw the way he's looking at her.

"You," he said, his voice raw and deep. "Are the most goddamned beautiful sight I've ever seen."

She almost shut her eyes again, because the intensity of his gaze was almost too much. Instead, she interlaced the fingers of his free hand with hers, and sat up straighter.

She fell into a cautious rhythm, moving up and down shallowly and slowly. But the sounds that he was making, and the pursuit of her own slowly mounting pleasure, made her bolder, taking him faster and deeper.

He helped her, guiding her motions to show her how roll her hips and grind against him. All the while, he stroked her clit with his free hand, drawing out more whimpers and gasps.

Eventually, the tension deep inside was too much, yet not enough. She was so close, so close…

She wasn't sure if she was saying it out loud, or if Raffe had simply read her body. He wrapped his firm arm around her waist and sat up, thrusting into her with deep, hard strokes. She clung to him and met his thrusts with frantic motions of her own.

"Yes...yes..yes...Raffe!" The tension inside her finally broke, flooding her with waves of pleasure. As her own toes curled, she felt Raffe tense, and crush her close to his body. He cried out her name as his own orgasm came over him.

They fell back on the bed, panting and utterly dazed. Penryn tried to roll off Raffe, but he kept his arms locked around her.

"Christ," Raffe said when he got his breath back.

"Yeah."

"That was…"

"Yeah."

"I suppose I'm totally corrupted now."

"I'll express my condolences once my ears stop ringing."

He chuckled and stroked her hair away from her face.

"Raffe?"

"Hm?"

"I'm really glad you stayed."

He grinned and kissed her. "So am I."

* * *

Sorry this took so long. It's not necessarily my best work, but I really wanted to get this done. In any case thank you for your patience and let me know what you think!


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